


Utopia Ends Here

by Josh89



Series: A Detective's Story [13]
Category: Criminal Case (Video Game)
Genre: Case Fic, Gen, June 2020 Prompt Challenge, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25014466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: The detective and his allies take on another murder case as they fight to prevent the Utopian cult from carrying out a mass-brainwashing.
Series: A Detective's Story [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1277363
Kudos: 3
Collections: /r/FanFiction Prompt Challenge #19 / June 2020





	Utopia Ends Here

**Author's Note:**

> An immediate prequel to the '15th January 2015' section of fic #12 in the series, Letters To Home.

“Josh, tonight’s the night! It’s the Ivywood Film Awards ceremony!”  
“You can give me an award for being the best-dressed police officer! A bottle of Gold Stag would make a nice prize!”  
_Geez… For law enforcement agents who are supposed to be acting like actual functioning adults, Frank and Roxie certainly have no problem gossiping about celebrities and awards like giddy schoolchildren…_ “Pull yourselves together. We don’t have time to gossip or to get excited about the awards. Not until we deal with the Utopians” I said simply from my seat at my desk.  
“Josh is right. We don’t have time for this. We know the Utopians are planning something tonight; they’ve made a film to brainwash the entire population of Ivywood!” Amy agreed from her desk.  
Frank grinned optimistically. “That was when the Utopians still had a leader. But now that Holly Hopper’s dead, surely we have nothing to fear?”  
_Well that’s naïve. And how do we know that she didn’t fake her death?_ Russell glared at Frank over the top of his glasses from where he’d been leaning against the wall on my right. “Leaderless or not, the Utopians are still a threat! Remember what they did to Andrea, Frank? She’s still on sick leave!”  
“Well, what do you propose we do then, brain boy?”  
_We get out there and we do some damn policework._ “We do what Andrea would have told us to do,” I said simply, standing and grabbing my jacket, slipping it on in a quick motion.  
Amy nodded, getting to her feet. “Josh is right. If Andrea were here, she’d tell us to check the Awards Theatre for suspicious activity!”.  
Frank laughed. “Holy booze, it’s Amy’s therapist who deserves an award! I’ve never seen the kid so confident! She’s bossing us around like she’s the new Chief!”  
_Idiot._ Amy scowled at Frank as she grabbed her jacket. “Josh, I’ll go walk the red carpet with you, you need a serious partner tonight!”  
_Damn right I do._ “Let’s go, partner”.  
We left the police station and walked quickly to the Ivywood Awards Theatre, where the ceremony would be held. It became clear that something was very wrong as we neared the building, and as we reached it became exceedingly clear why. The body of Tyler Snakes, the Utopian film producer I’d met during an earlier case, was sprawled across the red carpet. I could tell right away that he was dead. The thing I wanted to know, though was whether his death was linked to the Utopians brainwashing plot or not. “Amy. Have a look at the body, tell me what you think”.  
As my partner nodded and knelt beside the body, I examined the immediate area around the body, quickly finding both a small photo and a gold envelope. My partner sighed as she got to her feet, and I turned to face her just in time to see her pull her notebook from her jacket pocket. “Well?”  
“It’s a good thing we were suspicious, Josh. He’s dead, without a doubt. Looks like he suffocated, but of course, we can’t say for sure until after Yann finishes his autopsy. And the badge on his jacket shows that he’s a Utopian… The question is… who is he?”  
“His name’s Tyler Snakes, he’s a famous movie producer”.  
Amy nodded. “I’ve read about him! He was in charge of organizing the Awards ceremony!”  
“The awards organizer just drops dead the very night of the awards. This is no coincidence”.  
“You’re right, it can’t just be random chance. We’re dealing with another murder!”  
_Case #94. Just 6 more and I’ll be investigating my 100th murder case since my career started in Grimsborough._ “The Awards organizer is killed before the ceremony, right when the Utopians were planning to brainwash the population... Could the two events be linked?”  
Amy scowled. “But that means the Utopians might still be planning to brainwash people! And we’ve seen the atrocities they’re capable of, I’m sure that they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill one of their own members in the process! Anyway, we have to start somewhere. Let’s take a look at the clues you’ve found!”  
-Several hours later-  
Amy and I stepped into the hotel lobby, our eyes scanning the room. “I don’t see anyone suspicious here, Josh. Maybe Hannah’s intel about Holly Hopper was wrong…” Amy muttered.  
_Wrong._ I shook my head, my hand already moving towards the handle of my gun. There was a woman dressed like a socialite, in an extremely tacky yellow outfit with an almost-comically oversized hat and sunglasses, sitting in the corner. She’d looked around when we’d entered, and then immediately turned away before she caught my eye. Not usually suspicious in and of itself, but in the past six cases I’d worked in the district, I’d come to know every single person with any form of power. And she looked like exactly one of them. “Her”.  
“That woman in the hat? Are you sure?”  
_Yes._ “I’ve never been surer”.  
I drew my handgun, keeping it still at my side as Amy and I moved closer to the woman. As we drew closer, she lifted her head just enough for me to see the distinct shape of her face, and I knew immediately that it was the Utopian’s leader. “Identify yourself, please”. _Mostly for Amy’s benefit, of course. She’s smart, but I don’t think she’s quite figured it out yet…_  
“Dammit! I’m busted!”.  
The woman sighed, reaching up and removing both her comically oversized hat and her sunglasses. I nodded, barely even surprised by the revelation. Thought so. “Holly Hopper? But… you’re dead!” Amy exclaimed, training her gun on the woman.  
_Well, obviously she isn’t._ “Josh, what’s going on?”  
“Amy, we have more important things to worry about right now! Just arrest her!”  
“You’re right! Holly Hopper, you’re under arrest for… coming back from the dead! Inspector Josh will interrogate you right away!”  
As Amy handcuffed the Utopian leader, I mentally facepalmed. _Coming back from the dead? Really? Is that the best charge you can come up with? What about charging her with criminal conspiracy?_ “Let’s just get her out of here so we can get back to work”.  
-Sometime later-  
“Velma Bannister, Inspector Joshua is arresting you for the murder of Tyler Snakes”.  
The blonde-haired femme fatale looked lazily up at the blonde-haired profiler who had temporarily partnered with me to finish solving the case (due to Amy being brainwashed after going to get drinks during a break). She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, offering the packet to us. “Do you smoke, Inspector Joshua? Have one of these while we wait for my husband’s lawyer. Until then, I shall enjoy my right to remain silent”.  
I gave a feral grin. “That’s fine. You just need to listen”.  
I sank into the chair across from her, stretching lazily. Russell sat down next to me, staring intently at Velma. “Smoking is bad for you, Mrs. Bannister. Especially with poisoned cigarettes like the ones you gave Tyler Snakes”.  
Putting the cigarettes away, Velma smirked. “Poisoned cigarettes? I like a man with a wild imagination. But you have no proof they were mine, Smart Boy”.  
“Well, let’s see… The pack of poisoned cigarettes we found in the TV room of the theatre had blonde hair in it, and you’re a natural blonde. The Capricorn brooch (which is your star sign) we found in the same room had blood on it which matched your blood type. And as you said yourself, you’ve seen the classic film A Puff Of Death and you take Nevrax, which are the final pieces of evidence against our killer. We have evidence enough to put you behind bars for an exceptionally long time” Russell said simply.  
“Absolutely. But you know what I don’t get, Russell?” I wondered, deliberately avoiding Velma Bannister’s eyes.  
My colleague shrugged. “What?”  
“Why Velma Bannister would kill the only man in Ivywood who was actually able to resist her charms”.  
Laughing, Russell adjusted his glasses. “I wondered that myself. But then I had a thought. Velma Bannister is young and beautiful, the kind of person who always gets exactly what she wants. A real femme fatale from Ivywood. The kind of woman no man would ever have said no to before. So when she was rejected by Tyler, she just couldn’t handle it. She’d sunk so low that even Frank Knight’s shoulder was good enough for her to cry on”.  
I was watching Velma Bannister very carefully as Russell spoke, and I watched her eyes narrow in rage just before she leapt to her feet. “THAT'S ENOUGH! You think I'd kill Tyler because he'd bruised my ego? How insulting! I only wanted Tyler for one thing: to access the TV room! Tyler was in charge of broadcasting the brainwashing film to the world! He was going to start the transmission! I'm the one who saved everyone, by killing him!”  
“Do you really expect us to believe that you killed Tyler to save all of Ivywood? Why would you even want to stop your own religion’s prophecy?” I queried.  
She pulled a videotape from her purse, setting it on the table between us. “I was going to replace it with this. I had to flirt extra hard with Dr. Neuman until he made it just for me. Inspector Joshua, here’s the proof I’m telling the truth!”  
Russell took the tape, tucking it into his messenger bag. “I’m not sure I even want to know what’s on that tape. Regardless, you can explain yourself to the judge. You’re under arrest!”  
-Later that night-  
I sighed, standing from my desk and shrugging on my jacket. The Utopians had finally been taken down, their brainwashing plot in tatters and their few remaining members disillusioned and scattered. The few people that they'd actually managed to brainwash when the tape was accidentally aired would be cured by morning. As a reward for the work we'd done in taking down their plot, we'd been promoted to the district of Rhine Canyon, the desert east of Ivywood, by Chief Marquez upon her recovery. The Chief had told us to go home and get a good night's sleep, since we'd be leaving the very next day. "Night, Chief! See you tomorrow!"  
Chief Marquez waved goodbye as I opened the door and slipped out, heading back to my hotel room. Once I got there, I knew, I was going to spend the night packing and preparing for the next district. But first, I was going to sit down at the desk, take out a pen and some paper, and put my good English skills to good use. I had a letter to write.


End file.
